Heh.

[merriehaskell]

I suppose now that the secret is "out", I won't get much more of this, but I find myself really entertained by the people who want to talk about my book--and not because they want to talk about my book, exactly, but they want me to explain myself for being secretly interesting.  Or something.

My thoughts:

1) If you didn't find me interesting before,

Comments

[dendrophilous]

It's funny to think that someone would think you were keeping it a secret, I guess since I met you through writing.

[merriehaskell]

Right. Thought that reminds me of forgotten point 5) I had a WEBSITE.

[robinbridges]

4) Contrary to the evidence exhibited at/by my dayjob, I do have ambition. It just wasn't dayjob-oriented.

This. :)

[merriehaskell]

*grin*

[j_cheney]

My husband often nags me because I don't tell people I'm a writer. But you know, I can't produce a novel for them, so I'm not a 'real' writer.

My dentist knows, but only because of the WOTF write-up in the local newspaper.

[merriehaskell]

I did have a hard time saying, "I'm a writer." And yes, I often found discussing short stories to be more trouble than it was worth. But still, if people cared enough to ask, I would tell them. Maybe not the whole truth. Maybe I'd just say, "I'm writing a book," because that's an accessible conversational topic.

Maybe, also just maybe, the people who are the most surprised about the writing thing are the people who never asked.

[j_cheney]

Very likely ;o)

[gillpolack]

I love it that some people think I'm being secretly intersting (either about the fiction or the history) when in reality I'm quite upfront about being intersting. My dentist knew about my first novel, but that was because my father was a dentist so I tell dentists much more than most patients do. I tell my dentist about me spending school holidays twirling on an antique dental chair, for instance. Apart from that (and the fact taht I never quite had the courage to buy writing books) I had much the same experience as you.

[merriehaskell]

:)

The dentist thing resonates with me. My mom was an ER nurse. I find emergency rooms very comforting, as a result. I am informed I am the only one on earth who feels this way.

[dichroic]

I've known you long, a decade or so, but not very well, so I think I went through thoughts like that about you, but it was a while ago. Obviously I always found you interesting, because no one stays on my blog-reading-list long who isn't, but I do think there was a point when you from "wants to be a writer someday" to "serious writer who is publishing stories and actively working on a Real Book" in my brain. I suspect you've actually been in the second category that whole time and I just didn't realize it at first.

[merriehaskell]

You actually knew me in the "someday" phase. :)

[merriehaskell]

B/c "coming up on 10 years" actually means 7 or 8, and I think we've known each other like... 11? Right around Christmas 1999 was when I started on Diaryland, and you were one of the first journals I started reading--by March 2000, I would think. Maybe I'm off.